What is echocardiography?

Also known as: diagnostic cardiac ultrasound.

An echo uses sound waves to create pictures of your heart’s chambers, valves, walls and the blood vessels (aorta, arteries, veins) attached to your heart. A probe called a transducer is passed over your chest. The probe produces sound waves that bounce off your heart and “echo” back to the probe. These waves are changed into pictures viewed on a monitor. It is the primary test to diagnose structural heart disease in children.

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Reviewed by: Nao Sasaki, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM